Book Club

8 books to soothe your Election Day jitters

Plus: A new romance-only bookstore in Cambridge, a dive into SNL history, and the International Antiquarian Book Fair.

"I voted" stickers are seen in the Polk County Election Office during early voting, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

By Annie Jonas

November 4, 2024

3 minutes to read

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Good morning and welcome to Book Club!

Tomorrow is Election Day, and if you’re feeling on edge, I‘m right there with you.

That’s why I enlisted the help of two literary experts for a roundup of books to better understand our current moment — in all of its complexity, chaos, and confusion.

🇺🇸 8 books to read this election season

There’s no better place to start than the presidential candidates’ own writing. Research specialist John Devine at the Boston Public Library recommends:

Donald Trump’s “The Art of the Deal,” a memoir meets business-advice book
Kamala Harris’s “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey”
J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,”

Also try “Celebrity Nation” by Landon Jones, which dives into how our cult of celebrity has shaped politics, culture, and personal lives – “and how celebrities like Donald Trump have mastered the mechanics,” said the Beacon Press’s associate publisher Sanj Kharbanda.

For books on our democracy and the radical hope it takes to preserve it, Kharbanda recommends:

“Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want” by Frances Moore Lappé and Adam Eichen
“We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy” by Eboo Patel

Lastly, Devine offered Jeanne Safer’s “I Love You, but I Hate Your Politics: How to Protect Your Intimate Relationships in a Poisonous Partisan World” as the book that will lower your blood pressure. Pair it with “How to Be a Citizen: Learning to Be Civil Without the State,” by C.L. Skach for post-election unrest.

“We will all still be here after January 20, 2025, regardless of who wins,” Devine added.

NEEDHAM, MA – Asher Glass, 4, sits on the shoulders of his father Jason as his parents cast early ballots at Needham Town Hall for the Nov. 5 general election on Oct. 19, 2024. – Erin Clark / Globe Staff

Don’t forget the Massachusetts races! Check out our ballot question explainers and expert-recommended book lists for Question 2 and Question 3.

✏️ Pencil these in

Take a break from the news at these joyful events this month:

Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair (Nov. 8-10): Spend a weekend celebrating rare books, manuscripts, and all things literary.
Dani’s Queer Bar and All She Wrote Books Book Club (Nov. 19): Stop by Dani’s for a discussion of “The Price of Salt,” or “Carol” by Patricia Highsmith.
“Writing the Modern Romance Author Panel” (Nov. 22): Lovestruck Books, a forthcoming romance-only bookstore in Cambridge is hosting a panel with author Zan Romanoff, moderated by the Boston Globe’s Meredith Goldstein.
JustBook-ish grand opening (Nov. 23): Join JustBook-ish, a new bookstore and literary space in Fields Corner, Dorchester for its ribbon cutting ceremony. It was founded by Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola and Bing Broderick.

📖 What we’re reading

Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Jane Curtain (Kim Matula), Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener) and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) in "Saturday Night." — Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Jane Curtain (Kim Matula), Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener) and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) in “Saturday Night.” *– Sony Pictures*

Our entertainment and culture writer Kevin Slane recently read “Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live” by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller. Here’s what he had to say:

“If you’re too busy to go see ‘Saturday Night’ in theaters, reading the first 60 pages of this definitive SNL oral history is literally the same thing. Except that unlike the movie, Shales and Miller’s book makes no attempt to soften the fact that Chevy Chase is an irredeemable jerk.”

What are you reading? Tell us the last book you loved, and we’ll feature it in next month’s Book Club newsletter.

💬 Wise words

Like the rest of the world, Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series has a chokehold on me. I’m finishing the third book, “A Court of Wings and Ruin,” and offer the quote below, spoken by Rhysand to our beloved Feyre darling, for your enjoyment.

“Only you can decide what breaks you, Cursebreaker. Only you.”

While many might call Maas’s writing not particularly high-brow, I think it is an apt line that speaks to the resilience we all have, even when things feel out of our control (*cough* Tuesday *cough* election).

— Annie Jonas